Arrested American ISIS Sympathizer Mufid Elfgeeh Is One Part Bullsh*t, One Part Real Threat
The arrest of Yemeni-American shopkeeper Mufid Elfgeeh in May didn’t attract much media attention, but his indictment this week on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS has made him a national story. The news sets off two types of alarms, one of which is a bullshit detector. On the one hand, Elfgeeh’s arrest is being hyped as the foiling of an American ISIS operative, proof of the threat the group poses to The Homeland™. Watch this CNN report, in which Wolf Blitzer says Elfgeeh was “working for ISIS”:
The new charges against Elfgeeh are being covered in much the same way, as evidence of ISIS’ threat to der Homeland, even though this guy had no contact with ISIS. Wolf even goes on to explain that this guy has no contact with ISIS, and that somehow, that’s what makes it so scary!
The pants-crapping likes of Lindsey Graham and Sheriff Koran Books have convinced a lot of Americans that ISIS is about to rain terror down on them, but so far, the Obama administration has admirably resisted hyping the threat that returning ISIS fighters pose to Americans at home. The fact is that there is no credible threat posed by the Americans who have joined ISIS, and the administration has sent some fairly strong signals that even if they did try to return home, we’ve got a pretty good handle on them.
Even so, the potential for a long-term threat from a terrorist safe haven in Iraq and Syria has brought the administration perilously close to uttering the words “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.” The line between clear-eyed threat assessment and five-alarm freakout is perilously thin, and the stuff that bad decisions are made of.
There’s a part of this story, though, that isn’t getting the same sort of attention that Elfgeeh’s attempt to aid fake terrorists, and that is…READ MORE
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher
Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
17 responses to Arrested American ISIS Sympathizer Mufid Elfgeeh Is One Part Bullsh*t, One Part Real Threat
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Pilotshark September 18th, 2014 at 10:32
Well if you all want to run around like peter panic, and fear the shadows, along with being terrorized. then fine but understand you have let them WIN!
bahlers September 18th, 2014 at 12:33
But I thought that Peter Pan’s shadow was his friend?!?
Pilotshark September 18th, 2014 at 10:32
Well if you all want to run around like peter panic, and fear the shadows, along with being terrorized. then fine but understand you have let them WIN!
bahlers September 18th, 2014 at 12:33
But I thought that Peter Pan’s shadow was his friend?!?
Terry September 18th, 2014 at 11:54
It is very important that this threat to our way of life be addressed seriously and quickly.
mea_mark September 18th, 2014 at 11:57
You really don’t get it do you? No sneaking back in Couscous. Third account down.
Anomaly 100 September 18th, 2014 at 12:53
I love you.
mea_mark September 18th, 2014 at 11:57
You really don’t get it do you? No sneaking back in Couscous. Third account down.
Anomaly 100 September 18th, 2014 at 12:53
I love you.
Suzanne McFly September 18th, 2014 at 12:30
He may be irrelevant in the big picture, but I still am glad he was caught. People who sympathize with these brutal forces is what gives them power. If we remove their “fan base” they won’t last much longer.
Suzanne McFly September 18th, 2014 at 12:30
He may be irrelevant in the big picture, but I still am glad he was caught. People who sympathize with these brutal forces is what gives them power. If we remove their “fan base” they won’t last much longer.
tiredoftea September 18th, 2014 at 12:38
Thanks, NRA, for all you do to aid and comfort both domestic and foreign terrorists.
tiredoftea September 18th, 2014 at 12:38
Thanks, NRA, for all you do to aid and comfort both domestic and foreign terrorists.
Spirit of America September 18th, 2014 at 15:14
“The only problem with that, as the story goes on to explain, is that this guy didn’t work for ISIS…”
The author doesn’t seem to know/understand how this works…
First, Elfgeeh THOUGHT he was in contact w/T.W.I.T.s, so as for intent, it is as good as was in contact. He WANTED to help T.W.I.T.s, didn’t stop at just wanting to help, he TRIED and thought he WAS helping T.W.I.T.s. So yes, he was a threat, period.
Also, it was a sting operation. What you’re not getting the info on is what started the sting. The FBI didn’t pull his name out of a phone book and decide to run a sting on him. It actually takes quite a bit in several different areas to be set up w/a sting operation, including but not limited to # & gravity of comms sent out, posts on sites, ability to carry out functions and more.
W/in last few weeks France has arrested over 12 citizens due to T.W.I.T.s, Australia just did a massive roundup, Denmark made 4 arrests and so on and so on. The US has had several arrests since august, including 1 who murdered 4 people and states he did it for the muslim cause.
Either extreme, be it being dismissive of the threat(such as this author) or screaming “the sky is falling close all the ports/shut down airports, oh my god oh my god”… is not the right approach.
My view.
Spirit of America September 18th, 2014 at 15:14
“The only problem with that, as the story goes on to explain, is that this guy didn’t work for ISIS…”
The author doesn’t seem to know/understand how this works…
First, Elfgeeh THOUGHT he was in contact w/T.W.I.T.s, so as for intent, it is as good as was in contact. He WANTED to help T.W.I.T.s, didn’t stop at just wanting to help, he TRIED and thought he WAS helping T.W.I.T.s. So yes, he was a threat, period.
Also, it was a sting operation. What you’re not getting the info on is what started the sting. The FBI didn’t pull his name out of a phone book and decide to run a sting on him. It actually takes quite a bit in several different areas to be set up w/a sting operation, including but not limited to # & gravity of comms sent out, posts on sites, ability to carry out functions and more.
W/in last few weeks France has arrested over 12 citizens due to T.W.I.T.s, Australia just did a massive roundup, Denmark made 4 arrests and so on and so on. The US has had several arrests since august, including 1 who murdered 4 people and states he did it for the muslim cause.
Either extreme, be it being dismissive of the threat(such as this author) or screaming “the sky is falling close all the ports/shut down airports, oh my god oh my god”… is not the right approach.
My view.
juicyfruityyy September 18th, 2014 at 16:09
We seem to have quite a few of ISIS sympathizers. We need to give them all a one way ticket to fight with them. They might think differently, once they are there. But it will be too late.
juicyfruityyy September 18th, 2014 at 16:09
We seem to have quite a few of ISIS sympathizers. We need to give them all a one way ticket to fight with them. They might think differently, once they are there. But it will be too late.